Heart rate into the 170s, no clue what to do next!

[paomm]

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to look at and answer all of our questions.

I was having bronchitis on 10/6/18 and while driving my car I felt my heart rate extremely elevated (a hot flush went through my body before that). I pulled my car and went to the nearest pharmacy where my bp and bpm were measure with a BP machine. My heart rate was 178 bpm at rest and my BP was somewhere around 140 over 90.

I rushed to the nearest ER but until I got there my heart rate was back and settled to around 100 bpm and they could not catch anything apart from sinus tachycardia.

Since then, I've experience same episodes around 5-6 times, where my HR at rest was peaking between 165-175 bpm. I could never catch it on an ECG.

I've had numerous ECGs done, 2 echos (trivial MPV with mild regurgitation & tricuspid mild valve regurgitation, but they say that's structurally normal heart and the findings are trivial).

I also had a stress test, which came back normal with a few PVCs during the test and during recovery.

I've had 3 different holter monitors all of them coming back normal with the exception of acceptable amount of PVCs (as the doctors said).

However, my last Holter monitor caught an episode of monomorphic wide complex ventricular tachycardia - 3 beats at 160 bpm, lasting 1 second. I've also seen an EP for that who told me to just forget about it, which is really hard for me to do.

One more thing is that my HR drastically changes upon standing. It can be 80 sitting and as soon as I stand up it increases to 120-130 bpm and stays there. Even the slightest movement increases my HR drastically. I've been advised to exercise but I cannot imagine doing that, since my HR is 130 bpm just standing.

I am reaching out to see what might me your opinion as I am clueless as of what to do next.

[2210485]

Start by hydrating. See if that helps your standing problem.

As for the tachycardia episode, if you did not feel like fainting when this occurred, then my advice would be to wait and see if it’s a 1 time episode or a recurring thing. If it recurs you may need another ambulatory monitor to identify it.

Also if you were anxious, stressed or anything along these lines that could explain it as well. 174 BPM is within the upper range of a sinus tachycardia or the lower range of other arrhythmias

Biggest symptom to keep an eye out for is fainting or the feeling that you are about to faint (black tunnel closing in). This can signal a more serious issue.

[paomm]

Hey, thanks for answering. You sound really knowledgable are you a medical professional?

[2210485]

I am a medical professional but would rather not get specific.

I try to keep answers more along the lines of “general information” and clarify that the internet is no substitute for medical advice. If I do make recommendations, I try to ensure that they are just good pieces of advice for folks to follow in general (consume proper fluids, eat healthy, etc) and not specific treatments for a condition.

However there are many who would see this as “medical advice” which would get someone into a lot of trouble.

It’s all about perception. As I see it you run the risk of getting bogus/unsubstantiated information if someone doesn’t moderate platforms like that.

A soccer mom can tell you to eat some sort of toxic plant online and be protected by free speech laws but a medical provider can’t even tell you to eat your vegetables without risking disciplinary action or being sued.

[Nepjiatong]

Hi, I am 20 years old and have exactly the same problem as you. Are you feeling better now? Is there anything you do that is helpful for recovering from this disease?